Anyone can be an accountant… with training.
The problem is not everyone performing accounting functions like accounts receivable and accounts payable functions has the proper training. And, even if you have the proper training for one industry, it may not translate to another (think clothing retail versus the film industry). While it may be self serving to say that having access to properly trained accountant is essential, having had to clean up accounting messes in the past it really is true.
Even the most simple of accounting functions can cause significant reporting errors. And at the end of the day, the reason we keep proper records is to present meaningful data to the end users: management, investors, and credit parties.